Eighth Proof

The eighth proof found in the Holy Qur’an for the existence of Allah the Exalted is the acceptance of prayer. Whenever an individual supplicates to Him in a state of anxiety, God accepts their entreaties. And this is not specific to any particular period, rather it is true for all times. In the Holy Qur’an Allah the Exalted says:

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When My servants ask thee about Me, say: ‘I am present and I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me. So they should hearken to Me and believe in Me, that they may follow the right way.’

Here, a person could ask how we can be certain God is the One Who answers these prayers; why cannot we say the outcomes which emerge from prayer owe themselves to chance as on occasion prayers are seemingly fulfilled, and at other times they are not. If every prayer was effective, such a case could still be made, however, using the example of certain entreaties how can one conclude that they are fulfilled by a deity, rather than the consequence of random events? The answer to this question is that in truth the acceptance of prayer is accompanied by signs. Our master, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi(as) proposed the following test as a proof of the existence of God Almighty. He suggested a set of patients suffering from a serious malady ought to be selected and divided into groups. One set of patients ought to be treated and cared for by doctors, whereas he would pray for the second lot and from this it could be seen as to which patients made the better recovery. What doubt can there be in such a test? Accordingly, he once prayed for the victim of a dog bite who had been struck down by rabies. The doctors in Kasauli 2 refused to treat him and gave a written statement that his condition was incurable. However, through the prayers of the Promised Messiah(as) he returned to health, even though people who are bitten by a rabid dog and have begun to manifest signs of madness rarely recover from it. Thus the acceptance of prayer is proof of the fact there exists a being that answers prayers. Moreover, this phenomenon is not restricted to a particular period of time, rather, such instances can be witnessed in all ages. Prayer finds fulfilment today just as it did in the past.